A year in the life of a comic collector.

[ninanina]

I just finished reading a thread that touched on how much money everyone is spending on comics or comic related merchandise. Ron60 said he spent too much last year and vowed to spend less. So.....I was kinda wondering where collectors are going for their comics. E-bay? Dealers? Other collections (they kinda found about about, like me)? Conventions? Also, what are the buying? Silver? Bronze? Golden Age? A year in the life of a collector. Might be fun just to see what, where and how collectors are adding to their collection. Anyone?

[ubiquiti]

I buy from some board members both outright and some of their eBay auctions(darth, hogations, donut). I buy most of my back issues from people I have bought from before on eBay. Very few back issues from local shops, but a few big purchases(for me anyway) from Metropolis.

I buy mostly SIlver and Bronze stuff.

SO I would say 75% from eBay, 20% from major dealers, 15% from other sources(garage sales, board members, local shops).

[murph0]

I buy just about everything off of eBay b/c I'm cheap and anything I buy will stay in my collection unless I upgrade. I guess I buy from Heritage too, uhh..soo.. 60/40 I guess

 

Brian

[ninanina]

What are you finding at garage sales these days? Anything interesting, like maybe an Action 1 or....?

[ninanina]

Are you constantly running into over-graded books, or if you're not sure perhaps you don't bother bidding. You kinda struck me as a high-grade collector so your admission (not that there is anything wrong with it) that you buy lots on e-bay kinda surprised me and only because I've found the high-grade stuff isn't necessarily all that cheap on e-bay.

[murph0]

Umm..I only buy CGC stuff on eBay..so..I don't run into much over-grading except for the occasional slight overgrade from CGC

And by cheap I meant relative to other prices.

 

Brian

[dam60]

NinaNina, I'm honored that you started this thread as a result of my post!

 

Here's my low down - this past year I rediscovered comic books as I saw and LOVED Spider-Man!! I was actually a senior at Columbia (Roar! Lion Roar!) when they filmed it and was really excited to see it on the big screen. Well that had me going through my books and really got me excited. So about 5 months and 8K later, I am very, very proud of my collection. However, that is CRAZY money to spend on books!

 

I stopped collecting around '94, but when I rediscovered comics I found that some of my favorites still had there appeal! I am also more of a completionist so in the past 5 months I have put together tons of modern runs and am now focusing my attention to

(1) Batman (now have 264-610 complete, working on getting to them all)

(2) Horror / Ghost genre (have a near full run of Ghosts series, various issues of all the 70s DC issues)

 

As to the full runs - to the best of my memory, here they are:

 

Amazing Spider-Man 252-333 (missing 15)

Web of Spiderman 1-87 (complete)

Avengers 180-350 (2/3rds)

Daredevil 170-300 (2/3rds)

JLA 1-76 (complete)

Detective 400-778 (2/3rds)

LDK (1-72 missing 60)

Silver Surfer 1-118 (complete)

Hulk 147-474 (missing about 20 all pre 190)

Wolverine 1-75 (missing 68)

X-Factor 1-80 (missing 64,66)

X-Force 1-50 (complete)

Uncanny 147-350 (only missing 266)

X-Men 1-40 (complete)

Punisher 1-104 (complete, with a complete "reader" set of 1-50)

Punisher War Journal 1-40 (complete)

Action Comics 400-700 (3/4ths)

 

(note - some of these books came from a collection of 6 long boxes that I had bought over the summer at a flea market!)

 

A lot of these books were basically in addition to the books that I had. The books of my youth I still keep, but those are my readers. I am not a tremendous grade freak, but I like stuff at a minimum of 7.0. Some of my original books (even the moderns) are VG at best . . .

 

Where did I get these books? I had a good stash of Hulk, Punishers, and X-Os to start, then I went to ebay. I started out by buying big lots of books to get a feel for what I would like. I wouldn't recommend that - I got pure

 

Then I just started looking for the books that I wanted. I would buy a few almost complete runs (either from individuals or "of times past" and "sbluemon" both come to mind - they both don't take the time to really grade any of their modern stuff, but it is all a minimum of VF/NM! Great books)

 

So I would buy said run and I would be missing several. Or for instance with my Batman books, I bought a collection of about 300-600 with a near complete (missing 2 I think) from 500-600, missing about 10 non keys from 400-500, and missing about 1/3 from 300-400. So I started buying a few lots of 5 - ?? on ebay to get the bats I needed. That left me with additional copies, so my books are in nice shape as I was often able to upgrade or get a reader. Then there were those that were tough to find so I actually called Gary Dolgoff (again, very high remarks). He filled EVERY LAST ONE of the Bats that I was looking for and he UNDERGRADES. (Free plug for Gary!)

 

200-300 have been a lot tougher . . . I have been looking on ebay for deals, but if you want high grade you're going to have to pay for it. I went to the Big Apple Con in November and had a great time! Spent some nice money and got some great books.

 

This is just the evolution of my Batman run. Similar stuff for the other runs. Really I have tried to use ebay the most (since it's usually the cheapest) and then dealers/cons for filling books.

 

At the end of the day it just costs tons of money and I haven't even begun to tell you about my CGC books yet!

 

So now, in this upcoming year, I want to be MUCH more careful about what I buy and the runs I decide to build. This year is the year of the Bat and the year of cheap 50 cent comics (or quarter comics if I can find them) to fill runs while maintaining the Batman, Detective, and JLA (I have subscriptions to all three).

 

I know that 8K isn't a lot of money for comics for a lot of people on this board, but for me I just don't feel comfortable spending that kind of coin. I want comics to be more of a hobby, not an investment. 8K is too much to just be a hobby, IMO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zonker]

I've pretty much stopped shopping for back issues in comics shops. I've assembled most of my Silver/Bronze age DC collection, and now any holes are easily found on eBay if you're not too condition-critical. (For me, Very Good/Fine is a-ok for Silver, and Fine/VF for Bronze). I have picked up recent back issues in the shops (got some cheap Ultimate Team-Ups after it was cancelled). But even there, eBay is hard to beat-- I got my early Ultimates, and Daredevil:Yellow, Spider-Man:Blue there.

 

My recent obsession is very selective purchases of Golden Age books, but DC, Fawcett, Quality lines only. My criteria are: Complete, No Tape, never more than a couple hundred $$ a book, and avoid issues that have been reprinted in Archives or elsewhere. My ideal condition for Golden Age is Good/Very Good. I started out getting the comics version of the "Type Set," i.e. one of every title published. Then I branched out to get different issues if the cover feature changed. For example, I decided I wanted a Smash Comics with the Ray on the cover and also one with the later Midnight feature. (Note with my above affordability requirements, no way will I get a Spectre or Dr. Fate More Fun, but I have acquired an Hourman Adventure, for instance). Now I'm expanding further, looking for WWII covers, most issues of Comic Cavalcade (undervalued series, that), the S&K Star Spangled Comics not previously reprinted, and the Kubert Hawkman issues of Flash Comics prior to the intro of Black Canary to that book (and corresponding higher prices).

 

I'd estimate 75% of my back-issue spending year over year is eBay, with the remainder from mail order (Metropolis, Jim Payette, and the Comic Heaven mail auctions are a few of my suppliers) or the Heroes Con.

 

Cheers,

Z.

[ninanina]

So now that your caught up from being away since '94 your ready to do a little coasting. Thanks for the response, it's exactly what I was hoping to get in this thread. Enjoyed the detail.

[dam60]

Anytime!! My new budget for comics is $100 a month, but I have no problem putting a little b-day / Christmas money that way too. I also take donations

 

I would really like to have the Bats down to 200 by the year end, but it might be more of a 225 thing this year . . . either way, I'll keep the runs I am working on current and hopefully make a few dents with the back issues.

[Hensley300]

I now receive two copies of my monthly books through Daves Comics monthly comic subscription service (Im always working so I don't have time to go to the comic shops and pick out the cherries before everyone else does). Since cgc popped up, I buy most of my cgcs from ebay

[ninanina]

So far I have heard from ubiquiti, murph, dam60 and zonker. What I find common, is that all of you took the time to mention something along the lines of " I don't buy from comic shops anymore". That means you used to and you don't now.So....... We are all serious comic collectors that don't buy much from comic shops. What's wrong with this picture? Also wondering if any of you guys with comic shops are reading this. WHAT IS THE BIG PROBLEM WITH BUYING BACK ISSUES FROM COMIC SHOPS LIKE WE ALL USED TO DO? Anyone?

[dam60]

I buy back issues quite regularly from a place called The Time Machine in NYC. Really great store and the owner Roger is just flat out awesome. I like to actually go there and hang out, regardless of what I am buying. Roger is cool and knows about my lifelong quest. When he came across two VG copies of some older Batman books (88 and 98) he set them aside for me

 

The only other place I buy back issues is Cosmic Comics I like them because they don't mark above cover the prices that are just out (I am sure that Origin was an exception, but for the most part they don't).

 

The main other reason is that mos stores have a poor selection at outrageous prices. Bottom line. Why buy an overgraded copy from a store for full NM price when you can usually do far better, with shipping, on ebay?

[murph0]

Umm..I never claimed to have used to bought comics from shops. We don't have more then 2 here in the state and I neither of them have been a place I ever bought much of anything from.

 

Brian

[PovertyRow]

WHAT IS THE BIG PROBLEM WITH BUYING BACK ISSUES FROM COMIC SHOPS LIKE WE ALL USED TO DO? Anyone?

 

Because the stores here don't have what I collect.

[ninanina]

oops, your right. sorry/

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

WHAT IS THE BIG PROBLEM WITH BUYING BACK ISSUES FROM COMIC SHOPS LIKE WE ALL USED TO DO?

 

I don't own a comic book shop, but I'm in the same boat with the people that purchased comics in a shop, and don't anymore. The bottom line is price. Who wants to pay more for something when you can get it for less? Furthermore, how do collector's such as myself feel, when they find out that the books they paid guide for they can now purchase through eBay for literally pennies on the dollar?

 

For example: What was the asking price for Superman # 75 the black bagged version just days after it's release? At the time I managed to get one copy from my local comic shop, and that's only because I had one reserved, otherwise if I wanted a copy, I would have had to pay more than cover price (I can't remember what the inflated price was raised to) because prices went up overnight at comic shops everywhere. Another board member told me that his shop marked it up to $25 almost the minute it arrived.

 

So what's the point? This year I managed to buy two copies of the black bagged version for less than .60 cents each (both were part of a run I purchased) through eBay! Part of the problem is that too many comic shops don't make an EFFORT to COMPETE with eBay. They might say something like "that's my price, take it or leave it". I really can't blame them though for having higher prices, they MUST make profit to stay in business. IMO, the whole situation is kind of a catch 22 looking at it from both sides of the spectrum.

[Zonker]

Interesting question. Obviously eBay has made it far easier to come together as a worldwide flea market. For ultra high grade CGC stuff, there may be more buyers than sellers, but for mid-grade comics from all but Golden Age periods, there are I feel more motivated sellers than buyers on eBay. When this exists in the auction format, low prices are the certain result. And while eBay is a paid middleman, it is a much lower-cost middleman than the comic shop that needs to sit on an inventory until/unless it sells.

 

But the question remains, why have not the shops better responded to the new reality of eBay? The shops I visit have rows and rows of long boxes, mid-grade books, priced from $4-$20, sitting there day in and day out. They must be turning inventory eventually, but it is hard to see how. It would seem to make sense to dramatically slash prices, bring back the bargain bins mentioned in another thread, and reduce the backstock footprint required (and of course generate cash flow!).

 

I read in one of the Overstreet market reports years ago something that has stuck with me: "If you own an establishment with lots of things on display that people like to look at but not buy, well, you'd better start charging admission, because you're running not a store but a museum !"

 

Cheers,

Z.

[ninanina]

That's even a more interesting question Zonker.

Maybe e-bay works because they have more customers than your regular run-of-the-mill comic shop. But, what they don't have is "touchy/feely" before you buy. If shops could at least promote the fact that they are able (if they are able) to sell at the same prices, the fact that a buyer can handle the comic before they pay for it is a big plus. So, better service for the same (or about the same) prices. I think that would be a good angle to work on. Seems to me there are a lot of people trying to sell modern age books back to the comic shops and a lot don't buy them because they are already over-stocked. Could they just sell what they have cheaper, or in runs of 10 or 20 just to move them out. That way they could use some of the money to buy more comics and keep going and going and going. Get want lists from their "new comic" customers. STOP TRYING TO SELL AT GUIDE PRICES. People like discounts, don't they. If they have some rare hard to replace comics, feature them. Get people to look at them and sell those higher. Why? Because they would be harder to replace.

I know it's not that simple, but what I'd like to know is why can't it be that simple. I do know it would take an effort and manpower because you'd be constantly juggling your stock to replace sold books. Are the customers just not there? I can understand there not being very many Silver or Golden Age customers, but don't people who buy modern comics have interest in back issues? If not, would they be more interested in a back issue that was at least 1/2 the price of a new one or even 1/4 of the price. Something to sell to the kids. They can afford comics for 50 cents or a dollar, can't they?

Are some dealers simply offering excuses instead of doing something about it. I sell for a living and when it doesn't work, I always find a different way that does.

Don't want to ruffle any feathers out there but if any dealers read this, please let me know. The truth is out there.

 

[chrisco37]

you buy lots on e-bay kinda surprised me and only because I've found the high-grade stuff isn't necessarily all that cheap on e-bay.

 

Ha, ha. You just don't know Murph yet, ninanina. The man buys only the finest, and he doesn't mind paying for it.

 

As for, you question, the shops around me (w/in 20 miles) just don't offer much as far as back issues go. One place has an OK selection, but not the grades I like to find for the prices they want. I buy all my new issues and trades from a local shop. I'm kind of a regular there.

 

For back issues though, conventions, board members, and the big boys (Bob, Harley, Metro) are your best shots for quality material.

 

Ebay is nice, but as you say, it can get expensive. I haven't done much winning on ebay, but I can really only think of 1 time were i was very happy with my purchase.

 

Chris